Feb 05, 2021 | 4 Minutes Tally Ho Sirius, Dalmatian. c. 1939
Theories are just that – theories.
As scientists have started poking into the DNA of our dogs, mapping what genes various breeds share, they have been able to piece together how they are related.
But when it comes to Dalmatians, all that scientific evidence comes to a screeching halt. Though genetically they are grouped among retrievers, Dalmatians don’t line up strongly with any established modern breeds. (“Might be that they’re really cats,” one researcher quipped to me.)
All this head-scratching in laboratories confirms what Dalmatian fanciers have known all along: Theirs is an indisputably unique and ancient breed.